


hold me under the stars

by queenofteacups



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, F/M, Family Feels, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2019-02-23 18:39:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13196190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenofteacups/pseuds/queenofteacups
Summary: After accidentally burning dinner, Ben and Poe help Han come up with a romantic evening with Leia, who worries about the state of the New Republic, and fears of another war.





	hold me under the stars

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ravens23Princess](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ravens23Princess/gifts).



> I wrote this as part of the HanLeia secret santa exchange for Ravens23princess! I hope you enjoy this fic!

He’d done the Kessel Run in twelve parsecs, he'd been frozen in carbonite and  _ survived _ , and he was a hero of the Rebellion (a title he was still a little uncomfortable with). He was a husband, and a father, but what Han Solo was  _ not _ was a cook.

 

And Ben and Poe were letting him know it.

 

“Uncle Han, I don't think that's how eggs are suppose to look,” Poe mused, standing up on his tippy toes to get a good look at the pan on the stove. “They're suppose to be yellow, not brown.”

 

“Yeah, yeah I know, kid.” Han said, dragging the pan from the burner to sit it on the counter. He switched the stove off, and turned to see both Ben and Poe staring up expectantly at him.

 

“Mom will be home soon,” Ben prompted. “Her meeting with Mon Mothma and the council just ended.”

 

Han groaned; he appreciated Ben’s warning (thank the stars for his and Leia’s Force bond), but the fact remained that there was still no dinner made, and Han was looking forward to helping Leia relax after another stressful meeting with the Council.

 

“Alright...either of you two geniuses have any ideas?” Han asked as he folded his arms. At once, the two boys began talking animatedly in unison, words bleeding together until Han couldn't understand a word they were saying. He held up his hand; “Okay, okay, good idea, but can we repeat it a bit slower so the old man gets it?”

 

Ben chuckled and Poe rolled his eyes; “You're not  _ old _ ,” they said at once, but then, slower, they detailed their plan to him.

 

Once the boys were finished, Han grinned lopsidedly at them. “I like it. We better get a move on if we want this done before Leia gets home.”

The New Republic was never going to survive if all the Council did was bicker and argue all the time, Leia thought as she trudged through the long hallways of the Imperial Palace. Force help them if there was ever another Empire, or another Clone Wars.

 

The idea of another war terrifies her, as much as the thought that the New Republic could crumble before it's foundation was even set. Everything she fought for, everything and everyone she lost, it had all been for  _ this _ . And now she felt like it was slipping through her fingers like sand.

 

She and Shara had discussed this at length, whenever the two women had the time for their lunches. Between Shara running the new flight academy with Wedge, and Leia’s duties to the Council and New Alderaan, those lunches had become rarities.

 

When Leia finally made it to the apartment, she was surprised to see that the lights had been dimmed to a low setting, and that the air was cool like an Alderaanian night.

 

“Han?” Leia called, dropping her things on the sofa.

 

“Han, are you home?”

 

Leia began to round the corner to the kitchen, but was stopped by Ben, dressed up in the suit he wore to Jyn and Cassian’s wedding two months ago. 

 

“Senator Organa, welcome! Please, follow me.” Ben said cheerfully, in an accent posher than his own. He extended his arm out to her, and (slightly confusedly), Leia linked her own arm with him.

 

Ben led her outside to the crescent moon shaped balcony, which was surprisingly quiet for the middle of the night on Coruscant. 

 

Set up in the middle of the balcony was a small table with two chairs; a vase of flowers sat in the dead center of the table, and in front of each chair was a plate of Leia’s favorite dish from Dex's Diner.

 

Poe appeared from the shadows, holding out a cloak for Leia. She bent down so he could throw it around her shoulders, and in unison both he and Ben kissed her on either side of her face, before disappearing back inside.

 

Leia smiled after them, heart clenching as thoughts of failure and wars came to her once more, and she wondered if Ben and Poe would be spared from it. Or would they suffer, like she and the other rebels had?

 

“I've missed ya,” Han whispered, kissing the side of her head.

 

The exact distraction she needed.

 

“You, too, hotshot.” Leia replied, twisting around to face him. His face was half alight from the warm glow of the city, half in darkness from the shadows on the balcony. His eyes shone bright with warmth, and love, and familiarity, and Leia fell towards him, capturing his lips with hers briefly before pulling away.

 

“Quite the romantic set up,” Leia commented, sitting down in a chair and picking up a fork. Han grinned, taking the spot opposite of her.

 

“I'd like to take the credit, but it was all the boys and Threepio's doing. I, uh, burnt dinner.”

 

“Now that does not surprise me,” Leia replied, taking a bite of her food. Her whole mouth exploded with the taste, and she moaned. “God, I love Dex’s food.” Another bite. “Did the boys eat, too?”

 

“Right before you got here; now they're playing Rebels and Smugglers.” Han chuckled, and Leia smiled again, recalling the game: Ben always opted to play as a smuggler with a heart of gold, wheras Poe would always play as a talented, rebel pilot. The two usually ended up on the same side fighting against some imaginary monster they cooked up. Occasionally, they'd have Artoo chase them around so that things didn't get boring.

 

“Thank the Force that to them it's just a game,” the words slipped from her mouth before she could take them back. “I know there’ll be more wars,” Leia added hurriedly, “I'd be foolish to believe otherwise, but I just wish Ben and Poe…I pray they don't go through what we did.”

 

Han stood up and rearranged his chair so that he was sitting next to her. He took her hand in his. “I hope they don't, either. But if they do, we’ll be there for 'em. And I'll be there for you.”

 

Leia smiled, “I know you will. I'm stuck with you for good, aren't I, Han Solo?”

 

“As long as you keep me around,” Han replied coyly, leaning in for another kiss, and as their lips pressed together, Leia’s worries slipped away. She knew they would return in the morning, but for now she had Han, Ben, and Poe to help ground her, to remind her that everything she’d done hadn't been for nothing.


End file.
